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Forum:Source for authentic info
Over in the Talk:Candace Flynn page, we've started the discussion of what should be considered a valid source of information for this wiki. So far, we have used the following: *The episodes. *The first DVD. *Dan Povenmire Correspondence. *YouTube videos featuring Dan and/or Swampy, if they are publicly accessible. *Wikipedia. Other items previously used as a valid source, or to be considered as valid source: *The storybooks, starting with Speed Demons and Runaway Hit. *Private responses on YouTube from Dan and/or Swampy, when they can be verified or are made publicly accessible. *Interviews published on websites with the show's creators or actors, such as from The National Ledger or Everything Alabama. *Interviews or other promotions published on YouTube, such as the cast discussing the show. *Future DVD releases. *Well-known and reputable websites, such as The Internet Movie Database. (But even these are not infallible.) What should not be considered a valid source: *Speculation, especially when no reference is provided for the basis of the speculation. :(Speculation regarding an Allusion is allowed if you are not 100% sure of the connection to the item you are referencing, as long as you state it as such. For example, "The episode appears to be a reference to...". This leaves it open to confirmation by other members of the community, rather than being presented as a fact.) Regarding the new storybooks: The books should be checked to see if they deviate from the episodes they are depicting. There's an old story about people asking Gene Roddenberry at one of the first Star Trek conventions when they would be seeing a particular character in one of the movies. The character was from one of the early novels published by Pocket Books in the 1980s. Gene didn't know anything about the character (which might have been named Piper from about the 4th novel or so, if my memory RRabbit42 is correct), so the rule became that something was canon only if it was seen in the TV series or the movies. The side-effect was that the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which Gene co-wrote, isn't considered an official part of the Star Trek universe. The Star Wars novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye has a very different outcome for Darth Vader than what we saw in Return of the Jedi, so it's not considered canon. Contrast those with the Babylon 5 novels. The first 8 were based on outlines provided by the show's creator. They have some canon elements in them. But book #9, To Dream in the City of Sorrows, has a forward by him that says it is "an official, authorized chapter in the Babylon 5 story line". Since we're dealing with picture books, chances are that we won't have any problems with them contradicting what's in the episodes, but we shouldn't automatically assume that because they say "Phineas and Ferb" and "Disney" on the cover that they're 100% canon. - - - - The floor is now open for discussion. — RRabbit42 07:22, 27 January 2009 (UTC) :Wikipedia itself should never be cited as a source. We should always use the original source material when creating articles. Also, in the latest correspondence from Dan Povenmire, we shouldn't always take even official websites at their word. They are not created by his production staff, so things like Candace's middle initial being on a DC.com diary, for example, should not be taken as canon, but may be added as background information. :My feeling on the storybooks is that they also should not be taken as canon, but information from them should be added to the background information sections. Memory Alpha takes this one step further and calls it "Apocrypha", but Wookieepedia uses their expanded universe to create the largest Wikia wiki. My feeling is that if it isn't on the screen, but it happened in the books, it should be only included to provide possible insight as background info. :Dan Povenmire's YouTube screen name is Dantible. Any comments made there with that username may be considered a valid resource. I did see a Swampy username, but I can't remember it now. —Topher 09:32, 27 January 2009 (UTC) ::I bought the first two books. I'll let everyone know how they stack up after I read them and compare them to the episodes. — RRabbit42 06:27, 3 February 2009 (UTC) Source